#james gallagher

Lauren Gambino at The Guardian:

Republicans in California are proposing a “two-state solution” for the Golden state, in a move that is unlikely to go anywhere, but is reflective of partisan divisions amid a nationwide battle over control of Congress. James Gallagher, the top Republican in the California assembly, on Wednesday unveiled a resolution that proposes to split the state vertically, carving the deep-blue coastal strip away from the more rural, red inland.

The provocatively named plan – borrowing a phrase more often used in reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – is a political nonstarter. But it underscores the new messaging Republicans plan to use as they rally opposition to a redistricting ballot initiative in November. Framing it as a response to Democrats’ effort to temporarily override the state constitution and redraw congressional districts – itself a countermove to Republican-led redistricting plan sought by Donald Trump in Texas – Gallagher argued that the new maps in California would further “silence rural voices and rig the political system against them forever”.

“I have come to see that the only way we can obtain proper attention is by pursuing our own statehood,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. “With this measure, we will begin the first step of that process.” According to Gallagher, it would create a new state with a population of more than 10 million people – making it one of the 10 most populous states in the US. “Whether you are from the north state, Central valley, or the Inland Empire, life has become harder and completely unaffordable,” the Republican leader explained. “We have been overlooked for far too long and now they are trying to rip away what little representation we have left.”

Hello, cupid, welcome! This is a great question! I'm going to break my self-imposed rule and use some folks that you can't have met yet, because I'm going to use all three projects' protagonists for this answer.

Talentless

Maggie: She's so sure that she wants to travel a little and then come back to her tiny hometown where she'll probably take after one of her moms, or maybe apprentice to the local blacksmith and then there's a moment when she's in Toalen with James that everything clicks. She wants this life, in the big city, where she can be herself and do something without following the plan someone else set for her.

James: James' ideal future looks so much like what he already has, he thought he was already there; his squad keeping his back, the love and support of his friends, a job he loves, a couple of cats... He never thought he'd need anything more. At least until Maggie showed up.

Project 404

Glenn: It's only a flash of a moment for Glenn, a blink of a longing for a world he'll never see. He, Evadne, and Cal are having dinner, and laughing, with no cares in the world. And in that moment he knows, that he'd give anything for his future to look like that -- friends, good food, and the promise of more laughter.

Miadhachain Legacy

Zaria: Ever since she was cut off from the Miadhachain family resources, Zaria has been determined to get back to that life. She wants the power and the respect she was promised as a child - the things that were stolen when she was ransomed to the Bardricks. Now if only those pesky notions of what a life with Adair might look like would stop distracting her from trying to get there.

Malcolm Flynn Gallagher (@colmgallagher)

DOB: September 2nd 1985 Age: 39 years old Hometown: Manchester, England Nicknames: Mal, Malc, Mac, and Colm S/O: Claire Durney Kids: Kayleigh and Riley Best Friend(s): Cristofer Hensley, Shelby Bennett, & August Webster Aesthetic: Malcolm grew up with a strong relationship with both his teenage parents and his grandmother, Peggy. He was often babysat by his nana while both her parents worked to afford housing and food for the three of them. He loved hanging out with his Uncle Liam and spent most of his time with him. Liam introduced him to football, and eventually became obsessed. His father ended up working doubles to make enough for Colm to join a local team. This is something that he would try to bond with his younger brother over, though James didn't seem as interested with this. Colm ended up playing football for 14 years, going to uni on a scholarship.

James Conrad Gallagher (@jamesconradgallg)

DOB: May 18th 1990 Age: 34 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Jamie, Jay, JJ, Con, Connie S/O: Michelle Michaels Kids: None Best Friend(s): Kiersten Krause Aesthetic: James was a very shy child, always seeming to like being alone. He wasn't always this way, before being extremely talkative and expressive. When James was around 5 years old he was one of 4 James' in his kindergarten class, and a note was sent home to his parents explaining that he needed to have some sort of nicknames so the 4 don't get mixed up. He started getting referred to as his middle name, Conrad, or Connie for short. Kids were not kind to him afterwards and he got heavily made fun of for this. He became very quiet and introverted to a point that he wouldn't even speak to his parents. Noel slowly started to introduce him to the music industry, in hopes that it might be a good outlet for his young son. Luckily for him, James took to this and actually became a producer as he got older.

Molly Quinn Gallagher (@mollywally)

DOB: February 19th 1997 Age: 27 years old Hometown: Camden, England Nicknames: Molls, Wally S/O: Darren Maguire Kids: Sophia, Leon, and Elliot Best Friend(s): Teagan Hale, Jordyn Conley, and Caitlin Cunningham Aesthetic: Molly was always Noel's quiet favourite. He would never admit it, but she was. She knew it as well. The minute she flashed her big blue puppy dog eyes, she got whatever her heart desired from Noel. Mary was not a fool for this trick however and has had to have multiple talks to Noel about toughening up and being a bit more strict with her, but he can't help it. Molly looks just like her mother and Noel can't seem to see through it. She was a very expressive young girl, always doing some sort of art or sport. She took a liking to her mother's song-writing and has helped her on many occasions writing tunes for her father or other famous celebrities. Molly was named after her mother's maiden name, Quinn, being Mary's previous surname. This was because her mother and father had recently gotten married after finding out they were pregnant with their daughter. Mary was devastated to say the least, when she realised that Quinn wasn't going to be her last name, and that it was now Gallagher. Of course, it was her decision to change her name but it still upset her nonetheless. So Noel went to the nurse while Mary was feeding their wee one, and gave her the name. The rest was history.

Beckham Eoin Gallagher (@bekywitdagoodhair)

DOB: July 25th 2000 Age: 24 years old Hometown: Camden, England Nicknames: Beck, Bex, Becky S/O: Natalia Brooks Kids: None Best Friend(s): Justus Rush, Jayden Reyes, and Finley Holt Aesthetic: Where to even begin with THE Beckham Gallagher? For starters, he was born prematurely and scared the life out of his parents. He almost died, something about his lungs not breathing properly. Noel was trying to see what was wrong with his son but the nurses wouldn't let him even hold Beckham. He eventually decided to just pick him up, ignoring the words from the nurses, and held him against his bare chest like he had done with his other 3 children. Like a miracle, Beck started breathing normally, matching his breaths to his fathers. As he grew up he became more and more rambunctious, only ever having the energy of a mosh-pit at all times. The amount of times he's woken his parents up is too many to count on a hand, the amount of times he's gotten in trouble for not staying still in class is too many to count on a hand. Beckham never got any smack from his parents though, of course not, he's their miracle baby. Noel and Mary are just happy that their little boy has the lung capacity for all the gleeful screaming and running around he does all the time. When he was a teenager he stopped all the girl's hearts too. No one was every pined after more than Beckham Eoin Gallagher in his high school. So much so in fact, he had 3 dates to the prom because he was too nice to say no. He switched them out every little bit, and never got caught surprisingly. His future wife, Natalia, was the school's prom photographer and has photos of him with all 3 dates and will never fail to use it to her advantage.

Kieran Connor Gallagher (@kier_gallagher)

DOB: October 11th 2003 Age: 21 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Kier S/O: Janey Moore Kids: None Best Friend(s): Jackson Hughes and Leah Olsen Aesthetic: Kieran was well mannered and polite. He had a strong relationship with his twin sister, Cecilia, and they were stuck together like glue. They had gotten split apart in year 2 at school, and it was such a mess Mary had to go in there and try to negotiate with the principal to put them back together. They had been in the same classes up until high school, this is when they wanted to be as far apart from each other as ever. Kieran ended up befriending Jackson Hughes, Mary didn't like him too much. He was kind of a bad influence on Kieran, introducing him to alcohol and drugs at the beginning of year 9. This is when Noel had to have a conversation with him, sit him down and have a proper talk about his behaviour. He was just acting out in ways Noel didn't think he would have to worry about with his youngest son. Kieran had always been an easy-going kid, so what was he going on about? He was struggling with school, a cocaine addiction, and his best friend Leah, had quietly chosen to be friends with Cecilia when the two decided to split ways. Kieran was diagnosed with depression when he was 15, after he had attempted to… Noel had held him so damn close that night, fearing that he almost lost his little boy. He had gotten better after his mother started him up at therapy, he started gaining his relationship back with Cecilia, and is all together better now.

Cecilia Bridget Gallagher (@ceciliagallagher)

DOB: October 11th 2003 Age: 21 years old Hometown: London, England Nicknames: Cece, Celia, Sicily S/O: Nathaniel Carson Kids: None Best Friend(s): Jamie York, Leyla Watts, and Leah Olsen Aesthetic: Cecilia was a simple kid, never wanted anything, never asking for anything, even though she knew her dad would give her anything her heart desires at the snap of her tiny little finger. She was very smart, excelling farther than her twin brother, which did put a bit of a strain on their relationship. The two were never not in the same classes and were constantly being compared to one another, mainly Kieran to Cecilia. She never understood why he was so angry, he was cool, had loads of friends, and people liked him. Why would he be so upset about not being like her. Cecilia just made him feel dumb. This was the cause of their fallout. She went off to be a proper student with their friend Leah. She ended up having a good social group and superior grades. She had many times offered to help tutor Kieran, but gave up when she could feel the glare he gave her from across the dinner table. Celia couldn't stand being so distanced from her built in best friend. When Kieran had nearly died, she stayed by his side the whole time in the hospital, not even leaving to go to school. The two eventually reconnected and became closer than ever. She became a journalist in The Sunday Times when she was 19 years old and is quite well-known in England.

Penelope Niamh Gallagher (@whos_pennygallagher)

James is very young. He knows that their mom is bad and she was very very bad to his dad, and they are safe from her now. He also knows that his big sister won't let anything hurt him... and what stuff he can say to REALLY upset her if he gets mad at her.

But I wouldn't say he is developmentally old enough to really understand much of what went wrong or happened. Izzy was old enough to remember the day her dad packed her and her brother up and walked away - James was only a year old.

He is bright and happy and loud and knows he is loved, takes that love for granted, in ways Izzy can't.

He doesn't know about the bag.